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Monday, May 6, 2013

Julep - May 2013

SET THE STAGE - FULL UPGRADEOh I took the plunge and jumped into this full upgrade box, yes ma'am I did! I'll give you one reason why....it's a 1920's box, dolls! This box is the cat's meow! For those of you who are unfamiliar with Julep box upgrades, they include all of the polishes and beauty products that come in all the profiles (Boho Glam, It Girl, Bombshell, Classic with a Twist and Modern Beauty). In other words....you go gaga when you open the box!

Can I just say...Julep REALLY outdid themselves this month! Look how GORGEOUS everything is! The packaging is just fantastic! This month's upgrade included 9 polishes, a mascara, 6 mini lipsticks and a lip scrub. I also went ahead and bought the special add-on polish as well. Heavens...why not! This whole collection was too good to pass up! Oh I know you want to see the polishes....prepare to drool. This picture is....well I'll hush and show you...

Hellooooo beauties! From left to right:

Myrtle, Coco, Millie, Gabrielle, Alice, Zora, Zelda, Clara and Paris

Ok, Ok...tear yourself away from the pretty polishes....we've got lots to cover! We're going to start with the beauty products, then finish with the polishes...so hitch up your fringe skirts ladies, get comfy and let's jump into some 20's fun -

SUGAR SMOOCH LIP SCRUB

On the side of the this darling little box it says: Pamper your pout! and on the other side it says Soignez votre moue! How much do I love this? Oh, mais oui! J'adore!

This scrub smells ahhhh-mazing. It's a great combo of molasses, shea butter and a touch of brown sugar aroma. Works excellently as an exfollient too and leaves your lips super smooch-er-I mean smooth! Isn't that jar just so 20's classy cute? Even once I run out of this lovely product, I'm keeping this jar! No doubt about it. This sugar scrub was given in the Modern Beauty profile.

NEW YORK JAZZ MINI LIPSTICK TRIO

Starting from the right on the outside - Tea for Two, Satin Doll and Lady in Red

These lipsticks are adorably small but not ridiculously so. They keep your lips so soft, but not sticky. I think these are the perfect size for your purse, especially if you need to take a clutch. I know this is silly, but I am definitely not getting rid of that adorable black/gold box, it is smashingly adorable. This New York lip trio came in the profiles for Boho Glam and Modern Beauty.

Here are the swatches, I swiped each color about 3 times:

Left - Lady in Red, Center - Satin Doll, Right - Tea for Two

Tea for Two is a nude shimmer lip sheer that adds just a touch of soft shimmer to your smooch. It's the sheerest of all of the lipstick and can go well with so many different looks -

My lips are naturally pinkish berry-colored (just to note). If you look at the swatch you can barely see it! This lip sheer did not add my color to my lips, but if you look closely you can see a hint of shimmer. I really did love this one though, as I said, you can wear it with many looks and it's fantastic for girls that love to feature their eyes more than their lips!

Satin Dollis probably my favorite of the whole bunch, it's a stunning poppy coral shade! I know it looks orange in the tube, but it definitely doesn't go on that way. It's not too bright, but still adds some beautiful color and pop(py) to your lips!

Love love love this lip color. It would work great with pink makeup, blue makeup (so spring/summer!), browns, blacks...so many options!

Lady in Redis a matte crimson color. Ok...I'm not much of a red lipstick gal. This one is beautiful though, it really is but for some reason I always think red lipsticks look so goofy on me! (and I have no idea why my skin is glowing, but for every picture with the red lipstick on, I look so deathly pale lol...apparently my skin and lips wanted to be dramatic)

Why do I think I look odd in red lips, beats me, I wear them all the time for recitals and performances, so who knows! Well perhaps that's why...I only wear it for shows...But life is a stage, Cookie! you're saying...oh hush. Quite being dramatic...that's my job.

I'm really pleased to say that THIS particular shade of red is flattering though, and does not make your teeth look yellow! (A very big deal in the beauty world). It's more of a blue-toned red, but still quite vibrant. Observe...pearly whites! The lighting looks a tad different because I stepped into straight sunlight over my smile.

This will probably become my go-to red if ever I need one! Especially since it's a matte. I think matte reds just look cleaner and more refined.

PARIS JAZZ MINI LIPSTICK TRIO

Starting from the right on the outside again we have Sweet Lorraine, Charleston and another Lady in Red (it was included in both trios).

This set is a definite must-have as well! I know Charleston and Lady in Red look so similar but they certainly are not! This set was included in the Bombshell and Classic with a Twist profiles.

It's still pretty sheer, but you can layer it a bit. If you compare this to Tea for Tea, you can see a definitely pale pink tone. You can easily add some more vivacity to this color by using a baby pink lip line and filling it in a bit.

Charleston(I may start dancing at any given moment) is a cranberry colored lip sheer. Sooooo amazing. I have NOTHING like this in my beauty stash, I was super excited to try it.

This is the PERFECT shade for ladies who want to wear a red lipstick but not be over the top crimson BA-BAM in-your-face red! It's subtle but still gives your lips some va-va-voom and it layers so nicely.

I really loved both lip trios, it would be so hard to pick only one. I think Charleston and Satin Doll take the cake for me though!

AMERICAN BEAUTY VOLUMIZING MASCARA - JET BLACK

This mascara was my pleasant surprise of the box! Of course, the design of the tube I just loved, and I appreciated that the cap not only twisted to close, but clicked into place when it was completely shut! Excellent quality design. The brush itself, as you can see, it a dual side, with one side being flatter with tinier bristles and the other being curved and longer. It's great for getting nicely in between those lashes to give yourself and even coat and the formula layers very well. It contains small fibers formulated to attach to your lashes to give them volume and oomf! It also says the formula is made to condition your lashes and stimulate growth!

I'msuch a lover of layering mascara, so I just kept adding! This is 3 layers with an extra swipe on the tips (only 2 layers on the lower lashes though). This product definitely does what it claims! It adds great length to your lashes and the fibers hold on quite well. It does add just enough thickness to give your lashes a thicker feathering and fullness. This mascara was given in the Modern Beauty profile box. Personally, I think it's a great addition to any beauty stash! I probably will be purchasing their Boho Glam Lengthening Mascara which is an Espresso Brown!

You have been so patient getting through the beauty products...let's get into the polishes now, shall we? I'm going to be reviewing them according to their profiles...

BOHO GLAM POLISHES - MILLIE & ALICE

These two are soooo divine. This is the profile I have been set to after my beauty quiz and if I couldn't have upgraded, I most certainly would have stuck with these. Millie is a vintage indigo creme and Alice is a antique lilac shimmer.

I'm about to shock you, are you prepared...sitting down? Yes? Good. This is one layer.

WHAT?! Yes. One layer. I tried to (quite sensationally) explain to my hubby how so very important this is...it did not fully sink in for him..it may never...regardless....AMAZING. Alice (the lilac) probably could be given another layer just for a deep hue, but you could honestly get away with just one. That indigo creme is just to die for though, and the name? I was so excited to hear it was Millie! My hubby and I just saw Thoroughly Modern Millie at a performance and as soon as I put this color on I jumped right into a dance number. (It needed to be done.) The application was very smooth (I used a bottom coat but not a top coat) and it dried faster than I expected. LOVE.

BOMBSHELL POLISHES - GABRIELLE & ZELDA

These two together are STUNNING. A deciding factor for ordering the upgrade was most certainly these two. I really wanted to add-on them on and I realized it was just a better deal and worth to upgrade than just add-on...plus I'd get a LOT of polishes...always a good thing ::wink wink:: Gabrielle is a sultry smoky mulberry creme and Zelda is a pink champagne metallic.

Soooo Bombshell worthy. I really just want to say: "Ha-low Gorgeous!" when I wear them. Again...ONE COAT. Julep has certainly come up with a terrific formula for cremes. Zelda (metallic) was a little dotty/streaky with one coat, but I'm sure two coats will even it out perfectly. I've also seen pictures of these two colors on different skin tones and it they are VERY flattering!

CLASSIC WITH A TWIST POLISHES - MYRTLE & ZORA

My hubby is so classic when it comes to polishes and he LOVES red nails or french tips, so the moment he saw these he grinned and said: "You're going to wear those first, right? right? I think so." ::giggles:: Myrtle, oh my, Myrtle is a sexy classic what Julep calls "Flapper" red creme and I love it. It's my new favorite red polish! Zora is a frosted pink pearl.

Excuse my pointer finger and the mess I didn't clean up on the side of the nail. I was loosing the daylight fast and I was trying to hurry! Eep! Need I say it again? One coat! The red I adore. The pink was harder to photograph. It looks very white in the pictures, I tried hard to capture the sheen and frost and you can see a bit of it on my pinky nail, but not quite as much as in person. I wasn't as crazy about Zora as I thought I'd be, it's not as pink as I'd hoped, but it's still very lovely. I think it be gorgeous for a softer french tip instead of stark white. Perfect for bridal!

IT GIRL POLISHES - COCO, CLARA & PARIS

This set has great variety and shock shock...my first Oxblood red item! (for anything!) Coco is the oxblood creme, Clara is an opaque peach creme and Paris is a multidimensional holographic glitter top coat.

Here is Paris by itself:

SPARKLY! This glitter contains both hexagons and dot glitters and they pick up every single color! Very bright!

This photo does NOT do Coco justice! That oxblood red is divine. Again, only one coat here, but Coco probably could have used two. Still, great coverage. Clara was a tad too bright for me, a little too much for my skin tone. Formula-wise though, a great creme for a pale color. I think I would have liked it more if it was either more vivid peach or opposite, more pale. Now Paris is lovely, but I don't think I'm too fond of it on Coco. I think it's much prettier on a paler shade. Still, only one coat of that glitter as well...see how much it covers? Wow.

SET THE STAGE SINGLE ADD-ON - ETTA

There was one special add-on to complete the Set the Stage collection and it was this glorious art deco peridot metallic. So in love with this. I could go on..but I won't, I will show you my nails intead...

I am such a fan of art deco and the minute I put this on I started going through some art books and googling art deco images and this is so spot on. This was the only polish that couldn't get away with one coat. This picture shows two, but after closer look, I probably would recommend three. However, the formula is great and it goes on smoothly and evenly.

Each profile is $20 individually. To upgrade I had to add $35. Then an extra $5 for the Etta add-on, so my total was $60. I'd say that is an AMAZING worth for what I purchased. Outstanding in fact! Especially since originally I was going to buy my Boho Glam box, then add on Etta, Zelda and Coco....well that would have been $20 plus $5 for each add on...taking me to $35. Might as well just pay a little more and get everything! Plus, how could you not adore this collection? When I go see The Great Gatsby in the theaters...my fingernails and lips will be prepared!

FINALE

Ohhhh....I may have gone a tad overboard with this. I started playing around with the makeup and one thing led to another...and I just went all vintage.

Black and white though this may be...I am wearing the mascara, Charleston lipstick, Coco nail polish...and believe it or not, the burgundy ribbon that came wrapped around the polish bag! Never say I don't appreciate gorgeous wrapping!

I hope you enjoyed this extremely long review and what are you waiting for?! Go snag some of these beauties if you haven't already! and remember....